Here's one of the gifts that I made for Christmas.  The final product is a sleep shirt with writing on it made with a dye resist.  If you go to my sidebar and click on my Pinterest button, you can see the full tutorial that I used to make this sleep shirt.  My Pinterest pins are not in any kind of order, so you'll have to search through the pictures until you see a pinkish shirt with writing on it.

 

I started with writing my words on a piece of paper and enclosed the paper in a page protector.  I didn't want to write  freehand and I was afraid that the ink might leach off onto the shirt.

 

 

 

Here's the shirt, all ready for writing with the dye resist.  As you can see, I've found yet another use for the Clover Wonder Clips.  I put a cutting mat between the layers of the shirt (between the front and back) and slid the page protector between them too.  I taped the page protector to the mat to keep things from potentially sliding around.  The shirt was dampened before writing.

 

 

 

This is the shirt after I've applied the dye resist for the lettering.  In this case, the dye resist was Elmer's blue gel glue.  The directions specifically called for this glue, not white glue. 

 

After it sat overnight to dry, it looked like this.  My neat letters spread out, although I don't feel like I used too thick of a glue line.  It could have been my t-shirt fabric, how much water I used to dampen the shirt, etc.  Most of it was dry by morning and the areas that weren't completely dry were dried with a hair dryer.

The t-shirts are in the dye bath.  I used good ol' Rit dye, the powdered version, for the dye.  Again, following the Pinterest instructions, not the instructions on the dye box, they were died in a cold bath.  I guess a hot bath would have melted the dye resist.  Just not sure about this but my color was not very dark, in spite of a long bath (over 30 minutes).

 

 

Here's the finished product, after being washed and dried.  The color is much lighter than I wanted and I expect it will fade fairly quickly after further washings.  The overall effect is what I wanted, but I think I can improve on the process if I do this again.

 

 

 

 

I made two shirts.  One that says "Patti's Husband" and the other which says "David's Wife."  They were fun to make and I can see using this glue resist for other projects  too.  I've always used hot wax as my dye resist.  Although it may be tough to get out of the fabric, I think it would do a much better job than the glue gel.  Now back to my favorite crafting.....sewing!

Happy Day after Christmas! 

I just wanted to show you the sewing/quilting goodies that I received for Christmas.  Mostly fabric, a few notions, and an Hawaiian applique pattern.  Kathy suggested that the trivet at the top could be used as an iron rest.  The oak quilt pattern is really pretty.

As I write this, we are getting our first significant snow of the season.  Within the past hour, we have gone from no snow on the ground to a winter wonderland!  I'm hoping that we won't get too much so that my back can hold up under the shoveling.  It's a perfect day to stay inside and let the sewing machine hum.  Hope your after Christmas day is also cozy, comfortable, and peaceful!    

 

Here's the revised button for the Nancy Drew blog hop with the new dates.  My day is March 13th and I don't "have a clue" yet about what project I will be making!  Better get sleuthing.....

I just wanted to show you some of the labels that I use on the inside of my sewing projects.  There have been some wonderful tutorials on making labels and I think this is certainly one of the easiest.  I use a standard label template found in any writing program.  Avery labels even has a software  program out there and tons of free templates on their web site.  In any case, just choose the size you want.  There are much smaller ones and much larger ones, depending on your usage.  Check out your writing program to see what sizes are available in your particular program.  This template has 30 labels to a sheet of 8 1/2" x 11".

 

I like to use one of these templates because it's really easy to design your labels, change fonts, add pictures, etc. It's easier than using a blank page (no template) and cutting and pasting your design several times.  If you've tried this method, you know what I mean.  Setting the borders can be a real challenge.  These templates take care of all that for you.

 

 

 

 

Not a great picture, but here's a sheet of labels.  If you click on it, you can see it a bit better.  I print mine on fusible fabric sheets.  I like to use the fusible sheets because they are nice and firm and I can iron them exactly where I want them before I finish the edges with a satin stitch, zigzag stitch, buttonhole, or whatever.  No slipping around while working on them.  I don't turn the edges under, I just leave them raw and then stitch them down.  By using the fusible fabric sheets, I have very little fraying of the labels.  If you wanted to turn your edges down, you'd have to use a template that gives you enough space (extra fabric) to turn under or make your writing and pictures smaller. 

 

Play around and print your labels on a regular sheet of paper until you get the desired label, then use the fusible fabric or any fabric sheet for your finished product. 

Have fun!

(Photo courtesy of Madame Samm )

 

Although I don't have the goodies pictured above yet, they are on their way to my grubby little hands.  Thanks to Madame Samm's giveaway and Pellon's sponsorship, I will have all of these Pellon products shipped to my home very soon.  Thanks so much!

 

NO! ....NO! ..... I can't join any more blog hops!  But how can I resist?  This one is all about words.  Words.  I love words.  Words that mean something special to us.  Who can resist words?  I think it will be great to read the stories behind the chosen words and see all of the creative projects inspired by words. 

 

Note:  The Nancy Drew blog hop has been put on hold due to a delay in fabric distribution.  It's just now getting to the retail stores and for those who have orders to be mailed, it will take even longer to reach them.  The blog hop is not canceled.... just delayed until March.  When I have more specifics, I'll let you know.

It's officially the Christmas season!  My Elf on a Shelf has arrived right on time, December 1st!  He must be a pretty smart elf because he immediately found a stack of quilts on top of my TV armoire to rest his weary self.  He's brought along his peppermint pal too.  I'll try and give you periodic updates as he travels back and forth from the North Pole to my humble home.  Safe travels to all!